Top 10 Modems

SUMMARY

Zoom FaxModem 56K PRO: Generous support hours including Saturday, free upgrade to upcoming 56-kbps standard, $30 price drop. CON: Support call is on your dime, installation routine has a problem recognizing PCs with an AMI BIOS. K56flex protocol, 16-bit ISA card, MNP-10EC error control, 230.4-kbps PC-to-modem speed, V.80, WinFax Lite and COMit fax/data software Zoom Telephonics 800/631-3116 www.zoomtel.com

If you're looking for a low-cost entrée to high-speed Web surfing and have some technical savvy--or at least are willing to spend time with tech support--check out Zoom's $119 FaxModem 56K. A $30 price drop makes this modem the second cheapest 56-kbps modem on the chart.

This K56flex unit has few frills and is no fun to install. Plug and Play did not work with our Quantex test PC, which uses the AMI BIOS, so we had to set its COM port and IRQ by using jumpers on the board. Even if we had been able to install the modem successfully as a Plug and Play device, the manual neglects to explain how to proceed with the software installation. But if IRQ sounds as daunting to you as IRS, you have plenty of opportunity to ask for help: Calls to Zoom tech support are not toll-free, but technicians are available 14.5 hours every weekday and 8 hours on Saturday. Zoom's warranty runs for a lengthy seven years.

The only software that comes bundled with the FaxModem 56K consists of the fax and data packages, but both of them get our nod of approval: COMit is a capable data communications program, and WinFax Lite has strong viewing features and an easy-to-use phone book.

The 56-kbps standard is due out next year, and Zoom just committed to providing an upgrade to its current 56-kbps customers for free, even if it means swapping modems; the only cost to the customer will be a $19 shipping and handling charge. A software upgrade may be all that's needed, however. The FaxModem, like all other 56-kbps modems reviewed here, has a software-upgradable digital signal processor.